Update on Baby Noor – More Good News from Iraq

Hey, everyone. I got a surprise email today, and the emailer didn’t leave his email address (email was sent through Blogger), so I can’t thank him for sharing this update about Baby Noor. I posted the original story on January 2nd of this year, and hadn’t heard much about it since then. Here’s a portion of that story:

The first time Georgia soldiers entered her house, Soad was scared. Americans had detained her eldest son for questioning once. She didn’t like gun-toting men in camouflage uniforms poking around the family home in Abu Ghraib.

But out of that frightening moment came a gift of joy.

Gainesville-based soldiers of the Georgia Army National Guard’s 48th Brigade Combat Team promised to help give new life to Soad’s granddaughter Noor al-Zahra, born three months ago with a severe spinal cord defect that was untreatable in Iraq.”I am so thankful for everything,” Soad said. “We will call the baby Noor al-Zahra Georgia.””Georgia! Georgia!” she told her daughters when she called home from Baghdad’s Camp Liberty on Thursday. “We want to name her that because the people of Georgia are helping us,” Soad said. “It will be a nice name for her.”

Just hours before an anticipated departure from Iraq, Soad sat in an Army trailer sorting out a host of emotions racing through her heart.She had never left her family behind or flown on a plane before; the only times she had left Iraq was by car to neighboring Syria and Iran.

Now she was about to travel halfway around the world with a sick child in her arms. She had surrendered her granddaughter’s future to people she didn’t know in a foreign and faraway land.

“I am amazed bythe generosity of the Americans,” Soad said through an interpreter. “They came to my house so many times. They paid for everything.”Soad, 45, said she never dreamed that one day she would see the United States. She was excited, even though her trip was under such stressful circumstances. She knew that even with the best medical care, there were no guarantees for Noor.

…and more

“We’re all hoping for the best possible outcome for this baby. It’s our little project here. It’s our mark on this country.”

Soad sipped her tea and tried to placate her sobbing granddaughter. She held up a small stuffed animal, tickling Noor’s cheeks.”Georgia,” she said. “Look here, Georgia.”The baby stopped crying. She looked into her grandmother’s eyes — and smiled.

Three-month-old Noor smiles at her father from the lap of her grandmother at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, Iraq, hours before their anticipated departure, ultimately for Atlanta, for surgery.

Soad cuddles her granddaughter Noor in their trailer Thursday at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, Iraq. “I am so thankful for everything,” Soad said. Soldiers from Georgia have arranged surgery for Noor.

Now, here’s the email update I got today from someone who called himself “Soldier Travis:”

I work at BIAP. Baby Noor’s family passed through my Entry Control Point today to visit their detainee. She is doing very, very well. She is still very small, and was being carried, leading me to believe that she does suffer from paralysis. We read the story about her in Stars and Stripes two days ago. I can tell you that it appears that her family has gotten many donations from the US, as they were very well dressed (only the Sheikh in Abu Ghraib has money or dresses nicely… I’ve worked there, too.) Baby Noor’s family loves the hell out of us. Soad was there, as well as Haider and Iman. there were also two other young kids with them. ALL OF THEM elated to be with us.

Baby Noor is so beautiful, and it touched us all so much that we know that we just met these extraordinary people. From my broken Arabic, Haider’s broken English, I gather that she’ll be traveling back to ATL soon for a check up. Haider and Soad loved Atlanta. I think they may be thinking of moving there sometime. And as Baby Noor’s family began going into the FOB, Soad held her up to my face and I gave her a kiss on the cheek for being such a special and beautiful little girl.

Screw what the libs say… we’re changing Iraq one family at a time.

This truly warms my heart.

Choose Options to Share This Post

Close Bookmark and Share This Page

Save to Browser Favorites / Bookmarks

Ask backflip blinklist BlogBookmark Bloglines BlogMarks Blogsvine BuddyMarks BUMPzee! CiteULike co.mments Connotea del.icio.us

Digg diigo DotNetKicks DropJack dzone Facebook Fark Faves Feed Me Links Friendsite folkd.com Furl Google

Hugg Jamespot Jeqq Kaboodle kirtsy linkaGoGo LinkedIn LinksMarker Ma.gnolia Mister Wong Mixx MySpace MyWeb

Netvouz Newsvine oneview OnlyWire PlugIM Propeller Reddit Rojo Segnalo Shoutwire Simpy Slashdot Sphere

Sphinn Spurl Squidoo StumbleUpon Technorati ThisNext Twitter Webride Windows Live Worlds Movies Yahoo!

Email This to a Friend

Copy HTML: 

 If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

More »